A problem with many chemical processes is interference of contaminants with the process. Therefore these contaminants are preferably removed before the process starts, i.e. it is a goal to start with as pure as possible sources. However, if the contaminants are present in one of the source products to be processed, such as in a polymer material, removal is at least complicated and in certain cases even virtually impossible, such as in the case of additives being present in polymers. Upon degradation of such polymers in the polymer material the additives are released and may interfere with e.g. the degradation process and may cause side reactions to occur. In such cases the additives are preferably removed during the degradation process, and preferably are removed continuously.
An interference of additives considered relates to interference with a catalyst. Typically catalysts, and especially complexes, and function of a catalyst are sensitive to contaminants being present; in other words they function only properly under relative pure and clean conditions. As a result of contamination catalysts need to be replaced regularly, and extreme care is typically taken not to introduce contaminants. That may also be a reason why catalyst are typically not considered for degradation processes, such as of polymers, as these processes almost inherently introduce contaminants, e.g. in the form of additives being present in the polymer material, such as curing agents, plasticizers, property modifiers, stabilizers, surfactants, fillers, colorants, pigments, antioxidants, antistatic, anti-fungi, anti-bactericides, UV-blockers, UV-stabilizers, and lubricants. These additives form a serious obstacle in finding a method for degrading polymers.
It is known to use finely divided materials, such as carbon black and nanoparticles, to remove contaminants from aqueous systems, such as waste water. Such small materials can typically not be used in non-aqueous systems, and typically also are not compatible with polymer degradation processes, e.g. because of interference with the process, because of inadequate mixing properties, and non-dispersibility in solvents typically used.
Therefore there still is a need for adequate removal of contaminants, in particular in polymer degradation processes, which removal does not interfere with the process itself.
The present invention provides an improved method of removing additives from polymer materials and an additive capturer e.g. for degrading polymers which overcomes at least one of the above disadvantages, without jeopardizing functionality and advantages.